


Miss Communication

by chellerrific



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 06:23:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14764305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chellerrific/pseuds/chellerrific
Summary: Handsome Fjord loses his cool.





	Miss Communication

**Author's Note:**

> Anyway I’ve been thinking a lot about how Nott’s feelings towards Fjord’s letter would have changed after Caleb’s confession. Set at any random moment of downtime between then and leaving Zadash.

Nott and Fjord sat on opposite beds, staring at each other across the small gap, each silently daring the other to make the first move.

“I’m only doing this for Caleb, you know,” Nott said finally, sticking up her nose.

“I don’t care what your motivations are, as long as you behave,” Fjord said.

“‘Behave’? What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“Behave. Not get into my shit or anyone else’s shit or otherwise make a mess I’m gonna have to clean up.”

“Wait just a minute,” Nott said. “I think there has been a slight misunderstanding here.”

“How so?”

“You’re talking like you’re… like you’re _baby-sitting_ me or something.”

“That’s about the long and short of it, yep,” Fjord said.

“Wrong!” Nott said. “If anything, _I’m_ the one baby-sitting _you.”_

Fjord tried not to roll his eyes. “And just how do you figure that?”

“How much are you getting paid for this?”

“I told Caleb I wasn’t gonna take any of his—”

“Ha!” Nott crowed. “I’m getting five silver. That means I’m in charge. And _that_ means…” A diabolical look came into her bright eyes. “You have to do whatever I say.”

“That’s not what that means.”

“I’m _pretty sure_ that’s what that means.” Nott gave a sharp nod of confidence.

“It’s not what that means. Listen, there ain’t no need for us to sit here bickering. It’s pointless and frankly, I’m getting a little bored. So why don’t you do something at least vaguely above-board to occupy your time and I’ll mind my own business over here.” He turned and reached for his bag.

“No, that’s—!” Nott stretched out a hand to stop him.

Fjord paused, looking back up at her. “Nott. What did you do?”

“Nothing,” she said much too quickly. “That is, what _haven’t_ I done? I’ve been… I’ve been all over the place!” She waved her hands around. “I’ve killed before!”

Fjord turned back to his belongings, but he knew what was missing before he confirmed it. “Did you take my Soltryce Academy letter?”

“What? I… no, never! What ever gave you that idea?”

“Maybe something to do with how you’ve tried to steal it from me at least twice before? Did you take it to give to Caleb? I thought we had an understanding about this.”

“I did not take your letter to give to Caleb,” Nott said. “You can even get Molly to do his sneaky tricks on me again to prove it. I don’t want Caleb to go to the Academy.”

“But you were kinda fucking emphatic about it before.”

_“Before._ Then I found out they’re… they’re racist against all gingers!” She widened her eyes to emphasize the point.

Fjord found it really hard to be the adult sometimes. “Okay. Let’s say that’s true. He could always change his hair color.”

“No. They have… they have _ways_ of telling! _Magic_ ways! And besides, I won’t allow him to go somewhere where they won’t accept him for who he is. In fact, I don’t think you should go either.”

“What, out of protest?”

“Well… yes! But also I heard they don’t like people who have silent letters in their names. Say it’s… it’s shifty. Untrustworthy.”

“Just to be clear, you’re telling me they’re racist against gingers and they don’t like people who have silent letters in their names.”

Nott nodded emphatically. “Right. And I bet there’s more. What if they don’t like… people who worship the Traveler? Would you _really_ be okay somewhere you know hates Jester?”

“You mean like Zadash?”

Nott barreled on, not willing to let her house of cards be toppled so easily. “And Beau… let’s face it, there’s lots of things to dislike about Beau. In fact, they might want to execute Beau on the spot! Are you really willing to risk Beau’s life like that? And another thing—”

_“Nott,”_ Fjord cut in. “Nott. Calm down. I don’t really know what your deal is about the Academy, but I’d like my letter back.”

“No. I mean, what? I mean, I don’t have it. Is it thirsty in here or is it just me?” She reached for her flask.

“Cut the bullshit,” Fjord said. “Either you be straight with me or you give me my letter back.”

Nott dithered. “I don’t… have it… What letter are we—”

_“Nott!”_

She jumped, sloshing a little whiskey out of her flask. “I don’t want you to go to the Academy!” she shrieked, squeezing her eyes shut and turning her head away.

“That’s for me to decide, not you,” Fjord said, dropping the volume and intensity of his words but not the vehemence.

Reluctantly, Nott reached into her pouch, cursing the fact that she hadn’t had the opportunity to destroy the letter before he noticed it was missing. That letter was as dangerous as a boom stick.

Fjord took it from Nott’s trembling hand more gently than he felt like. “This has got to stop. Listen, if you got something you wanna say to me, just say it. If Caleb has something _he_ wants to say—”

“Caleb’s got nothing to do with this!”

“All right, even still, he’s a big boy who can handle things for himself, so maybe try letting him, yeah?”

Nott didn’t know how to explain that there were some things Caleb could not, in fact, handle for himself. Fjord had the letter and would be guarding it more cautiously than ever, but there was still time before the boom. “I won’t try to steal it again,” she said in her most honest voice, which was also her least convincing.

“Mm-hm.”

“But let’s say, hypothetically, there was someone _else_ in this group who didn’t want you to go to the Academy. Who would you be _most likely_ to listen to? Jester? Or maybe Yasha? Her sword is _really_ big. I think it would be the wise choice to listen to what Yasha wants.”

Fjord sat back and sighed. “I’m really done having this conversation with you. I thought we were _already_ done. You were pretty candid back then and I have a lot of empathy for you, you know that. I don’t want to get Molly and his ‘sneaky tricks’ involved—”

“I would shoot you.”

“You volunteered!”

“I said you could do it, because you can. I did not say I wouldn’t shoot you. The devil is in the details, Fjord.”

“Fine. Whatever. Just keep your hands off my shit.” He turned away.

Nott’s voice came out surprisingly meek when next she spoke. “You’re not going to tell Caleb, are you?”

“Worried about your five silver? Well, since this is such a problem, I might just do. Fellow’s got a right to know what’s being done in his name.”

“I told you, it’s not about Caleb anymore!”

Fjord reluctantly looked back at Nott, his eyes meeting her own, which were shining with determination. “Fine. You listen here. We’ll both pretend like this never happened, unless you try it again. Then all bets are off. You hear me?”

“You’re sitting very close to me, so yes, I can hear you easily,” Nott said.

Fjord clenched and unclenched a fist. “Do you _understand_ me?”

With only the smallest bit of hesitation, Nott nodded.

“All right. It’s a deal—for now, at least.”

After a pause, Nott said, “In that case, you should know I’m _very_ good at keeping things safe. If you want to let me hold onto the letter to guard—”

_“Nott.”_

“No, then. All right.” She took another drink from her flask and called it a tactical retreat.


End file.
